There are many ways to honor Nature in our
lives. For some, regular
participation in Pagan circles is a way to stay attuned to seasonal
rhythms, an
enrichment and support for their real work in the world, a way of finding
community. An artist, a doctor, a mother, a counselor - such people
may find
joy and sustenance in Pagan celebration eight times a year, or even
at each
Moon, but wish to pursue it no farther. They are the Earth Mother's
children,
as fully as are Her priests and priestesses. Their lives contribute
as much as
ours to the re-creation of Pagan community, the restoration of ecological
sanity. A window is not opened by lifting one side.

Others of us find in active priesthood our
life's work, our art form. We
will dedicate a larger proportion of our time and energy to the religion
itself. We are the producers of ritual and ceremony, not the consumers.
Not
because we are better, holier, or more devoted; but because this is
where our
talents, and our delight, seem to lie.

In our observation, people often spend some
time exploring the community,
reading, attending public circles or festivals, perhaps creating personal
rituals or meditations for themselves. For some, this time of exploration
fosters a hunger. They wish to study more formally, explore more
systematically, aim for initiation into the priesthood of the Goddess.

In the old days, such people would have been
initiated before being taught
anything of importance. The need for secrecy was so dire that even
the simplest
information was withheld. Indeed, no public festivals or Pagan circles
existed
as places of exploration and discovery. Probably we lost many potentially
talented leaders by having no adequate channels in; but however much
we
diminished, this is how we survived. The time for simple survival,
thankfully,
is past. Now is the time for re-seeding.

At the very end of the initiation, the candidate
is declared to be "a
Witch and a Priest/ess." We were not willing in Proteus to make this
declaration before the Gods until the person had demonstrated to us
their skill
and capacity as a ritual leader. Nor were we willing to allow a candidate
to
make the commitment involved in accepting initiation until s/he had
experienced
ritual leadership. We ask for a minimum year and a day of study, and
demonstration of competence by creating and conducting a Circle for
our group.
There is enough material publicly available now that we can easily
provide
this training without going into the oathbound rituals in our Book
of Shadows.

This decision created its own problems. By
withholding initiation for a
year, we were leaving an equally important life passage unmarked -
the point at
which a person decides and formally begins to study for the priesthood.
That
moment should surely be celebrated! Moreover, there are commitments
short of
the initiatory oath that are appropriate at this point. What follows
is our
first approximation of a pre-initiatory dedication ritual.

We more than welcome feedback from our family
on this one. We plead for
it!

logistics:

In this model, one coven elder agrees to enter
into an apprenticeship
relationship with the candidate. While this would most typically be
the coven
leader of the opposite gender to the candidate's, there may be good
reason to
choose some other elder instead. The decision is made by four people:
the
candidate, the elder who will be primary teacher, and both coven leaders.
We
recommend consulting with all elders of the coven if at all feasible.

We strongly recommend giving the candidate
a list of the questions s/he
will be asked several days in advance, so s/he will know what commitments
are
required before entering the Circle. We also recommend encouraging
the
candidate to respond as fully as possible, rather than with a simple
yes or no.
Elegant language is less important at this moment than giving the candidate
the
opportunity to state her or his feelings and values within a Circle
and before
the people whose company s/he aspires to join - and the exercise in
personal
clarification that inheres in deciding what to say.

The ritual here presented can be elaborated,
and we recommend it, as time
and inclination allow. Some examples: in addition to the ritual welcome,
each
coven member might offer the candidate some advice, or a blessing,
or some
personal statement about Witchcraft and the process of learning involved.
Small
gifts - a crystal, a homemade dream pillow - might be offered as talismans
for
the voyage of discovery now beginning. Cakes and wine, with toasts
to the
new student, might follow.

ritual:

[in Circle, with all coven members present, and teaching elder at altar,
candidate steps to center carrying athame or other working tool]

elder: (c's name), what do you seek?

candidate: I seek to study Witchcraft. I ask you to teach me.

elder: Do you understand that Witchcraft
is the priesthood of the Old Gods
and Old Ways of Nature, and that every Witch is a priestess or priest?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Do you understand that initiation
into that priesthood will change
your life forever, in ways that you cannot now foresee?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Do you understand what priesthood
requires: that, if you become a
Witch, you serve the Lady and the Lord by serving Their People, to
the fullest
of your ability?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Knowing these things, do you want
to study Witchcraft and its
related arts until you know enough to decide whether this is truly
your Path?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Do you understand that Witchcraft
is one of many means to serve the
Old Gods and awaken the Old Ways, and that even this is not your way
after all,
you may learn and grow while you are here? Can you accept that the
decision may
be no?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Teaching what I love is a great
joy. But I can only teach in joy if
I know that what I love will be used and shared with care and honor.
Before I
am willing to teach you, there are three things and a fourth that you
must
promise to me:

Will
you respect and protect the confidence of all who you meet in
the Circle and all who seek our aid, revealing their identities to
no one
except by their explicit permission?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Will you practice and teach the
Craft for love alone, using this
knowledge or teaching it only as a free gift, as I give it now to you,
never
accepting payment for it in money or goods or labor?

candidate: [respond]

elder: Will you promise never to use what
I teach you to affect another
person, avoiding not only baneful magic but all well-intentioned meddling,
unless you have that person's explicit permission?

candidate: [respond]

elder: And if time brings fullness, as
all here hope and expect it will,
when you teach new students of your own, will you require these three
pledges
of them, along with their pledge to similarly bind their own students,
so that
all that spring from this line may be so pledged?

candidate: [respond]

elder: [ONLY PROCEEDING IF ALL RESPONSES
HAVE BEEN AFFIRMATIVE] This
being so, I consent to teach you. This is how I value my labor - that
I will
plant only good seed in good soil, to become fruit both sound and sweet.
I
will teach you, I will learn from you, I will learn with you. So we
begin by
exchanging our pledges. Place your hand on this athame and repeat after
me:

I, (name), here and now pledge
To you (name), to the Gods,
to all in this Circle
And, most truly, to myself,
That I will explore the Path called Witchcraft
Its lore and its symbols;
its rituals and its deeper meanings
Sharing with you my joy in discovery
and all my doubts and qualms.
Exploring all questions with open mind and heart.
Until I know surely whether or not
I am for the priesthood
and Witchcraft is for me
In token of this pledge I swear
on this tool of my power
To devote myself, from this moment on,
to learning the ways of Witchcraft

[cover
candidate's hand on tool with own hand]
And I make this pledge to you in return

For the lesser knowledge, which can be taught,
I will be your teacher.
For the greater knowledge, which must be discovered,
I will be your guide and your friend.
For the questions and perplexities of the path,
I will be your companion.
To answer when I may; or simply
to be silent as you seek your own answers
And when the time comes to choose
whether you will enter the priesthood,
I will share with you
all I have observed and thought.
And may the Gods prosper our work together.

Know
that although I am your primary teacher, this Circle is not
made of the two of us alone. All here are dedicated to the Old Ways
and each
has unique knowledge. All of us learn from and with each other. You,
too, bring
the learning of a lifetime and the fresh insight of a beginner's questions.
Together we are more than the simple sum of each of us alone. Go around
the
Circle, now, and accept each person's greetings.

coveners: [embrace candidate in turn and say] I am _______.
I am your
friend. In time, I may be your sister (or brother).

candidate: [respond with same formula]

elder: [bless the athame or other working
tool that candidate brought
into Circle]. I return this working tool to you with my blessing. Accept
it,
as I have accepted your pledge. Use it now, as your first ritual act.

candidate: [go to each quarter and salute in any way s/he knows]
Powers of
the East (South, West, North) I, ______, call on you to witness my
pledge and
ask you to bless my time of exploration. [silent salute in East].

elder: -------, be welcome in the Circle!
[embrace, almost certain to be
followed by group hug].

all: SO MOTE IT BE!

STUDENT'S PLEDGE - alternative versions
from Coven Risingstar

#1

And the need cannot be denied,
for I am the Mother's child
And have come back to the forsaken ways

Teach me, Lady Queen*,
Child of our Mother,
The words of respect She would have us know,
The rituals by which we worship
Her Who birthed us of Herself.
Guide me in the Way
That nurtures all and harms none
As I seek to regain that
which was lost so long ago.

And, finally,
walk beside me as Sister,
(or Brother)
for we are both children
of the Mother

#2

And the need cannot be denied'
for I am the Mother's child,
and have come back to the
Ways of Old

Teach me, Lady Queen*,
Child of our Mother,
The words of respect She would have us know
The rituals by which we worship
Her who birthed us out of
Herself
Guide me as I seek what no other can teach me,
that which is mine but so
long denied.

And, finally, walk beside me as Sister (or Brother)
We are both children of our Mother.